Nick suffers from cerebral palsy due to medical negligence at birth. Despite his disability Nick has gone on to complete a BSc Honours degree in Psychology and complete a PhD in Cognitive Neuropsychology, both at the University of Leeds. Currently Dr Almond is conducting post-doctoral research with Dr Catriona Morrison from the University of Leeds. The research focuses on cognitive (mental) decline in older adults. Nick's main interest is investigating cognitive interventions which can resuce the mental decline in healthy aging, however his PhD research indicates that cognitive interventions such as commercially available games on well known consoles may not benefit mental abilities and may actually increase cognitive decline in healthy older adults. Nick has publications in Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition which focus on psycholinguistic factors in younger and older adults ability to recall certain words.

Apart from the day job Dr Almond has become interested in writing crime fiction thrillers. He has recently published one book and is currently working on the sequel. His childhood memories of being on holiday and remembering his Grandma reading Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie books to him as well as his fascination with Jimmy McGovern's Cracker and the TV series The X-Files has encouraged him to pursue this sideline career in his spare time.More information about the book can be found at www.murderthroughdisabledaccess.co.uk.

Entries by Dr Nicholas M. Almond

In April 2012, professional footballer Ched Evans was charged with rape and in November 2012 his sentence was upheld. Now Ched Evans has been released from prison and wishes to return to his job, which is playing football for Sheffield United. Sheffield United are his current employers and allegedly still...

Before all Scots jump on my back, I will let you know I am one quarter Scottish; I am also very fond of my Scottish ancestry. However, we must acknowledge that this is not the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The British union between England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland...

People with cerebral palsy can remember when SCOPE was called The Spastic Society. Now we have a culture where political correctness has overtaken and one cannot use the term 'disabled' or 'mentally handicapped' or even 'handicapped'; instead we have to use the terms 'less-abled' or 'learning difficulties'. Is this really...

Remember the good old days, when Ayton Senna would go out in qualifying in the last minute and put himself on pole when he would crash when he got over the line; taking the ultimate risk when there was 20 other cars on track. Then we have the epic battles...

Any sensible adult knows that one should not smoke around children and especially when one is in an enclosed space such as a car or even in the same room; however do we really need legal legislation for this? There are a number of issues that we need clarification on,...

Nelson Mandela was an angry young man who resorted to violence in the face of apartheid; however, after twenty-seven years in prison he understood the need to forgive and to work together with past "enemies" for the good of his nation and for mankind in general. There is a lesson...

Over the past 30 years racism and homophobia have been tackled with great success, but individuals with disabilities are still discriminated against by companies and society as a whole, why? Take the example of First Buses in Leeds that are disputing a legal judgement that wheelchair users should be given...

Remember the golden years of the 90's; Gazza scoring the wonder goal in Euro 96 and celebrating with the dentist chair water squirting, Cantona returning from his ban in 1997- winning Man Utd the double after his infamous kung-fu kick; the Invincibles of Arsenal who went unbeaten for the whole...

On Saturday 17 August 2013 the BBC run a number of news reports which shows that the prescription of anti-depressants are on the rise significantly and some patients are not receiving the right treatment (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23737359 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23545242). Is there anything which the NHS or drug companies can do to stop this...

Everyone's heart goes out to the grieving parents, relatives, friends and teachers of teenagers such as Hannah Smith. Yes abuse that anyone receives online is unacceptable and should not be tolerated, but it is difficult to understand how any individual can take their own lives because of trolls who they...

The above lyrics are taken from a Bob Marley song which has been covered by UB40 entitled Legalise It; arguing for the legalisation of cannabis. The issue of drug use has been discussed recently due to critics arguing that events such as Glastonbury promote the culture of illegal drug taking....

The government has announced plans to radically overhaul the welfare system, including reviewing anyone who is on disability related benefits. Sure, I bet we all know people who have claimed a bad back or some other disability and have been relieved of work and are now receiving what is known...

Some of you may know the UB40 song 'they're giving out guns in the ghetto, they say they set you free'. So, should we arm the Syrian rebels against an apparent oppressive regime, who are (according to reports) murdering, raping and causing hundreds of thousands of people to become refugees...